Rex Stout - In the Best Families

“Nuts. I was disgusted. “No such phone call was made, and Mrs Rackham never said it was. As for Rackham's having been in with crooks, either he wasn't and sister here invented it, in which case you'd better watch your step, or he was, and sister here got his tongue loosened enough for him to tell her about it. I'm perfectly willing to believe she is capable of that, however bum a liar she may be.

“You say Wolfe didn't make that call to Mrs Rackham?

“Yes.

“And he didn't learn that Rackham's income came from a connection with criminal activities?

“My God, Mrs Rackham didn't leave our office until after noon that Friday. And he called her that evening to tell her? When he hadn't moved a finger to start an inquiry, and I hadn't either? He was good, but not that good. I turned to

Lina. “I thought maybe you had had a coach for this, possibly got in with some professionals yourself, but not now, the way you tell it. Obviously this is your own baby-I beg your pardon if you don't want babies mentioned-say your own script-and it is indeed a lulu. Framing a man for murder is no job for an amateur. Aside from the idea of Rackham's preferring a jury trial to you, which if I may get personal is plain loco, look at other features. If it had been the way you say, what would Wolfe and I have done after I phoned him that night and told him Mrs Rackham had got it? Our only interest was the fee she had paid us.

Why didn't we just hand it all to the cops? Another little feature, do you remember that gathering that evening? Did either Rackham or his wife act like people who were riding the kind of storm you describe? Don't ask me, I could be prejudiced; ask all the others.

I left her for Archer. “I could go on for an hour, but don't tell me you need it. I don't wonder you grabbed at it, it looked as if it might possibly be the break you had been hoping for, and besides, she had fixed it up with some trimmings that might be very juicy, like the stuff about me working for Rackham.

I have not and am not, and I have none of his dough. Must I punch more holes in it?

Archer was studying me. “Is it your contention that Miss Darrow invented all this?

“It is.

“Why?

I shrugged. “I don't know. Do you want me to guess?

“Yes.

“Well-my best one first. Have you noticed her eyes-the deep light in them? I think she's trying to take over for you. She liked Mrs Rackham, and when she got left that two hundred grand it went to her head. She thought Rackham had killed her-I don't know whether it was a hunch or what-and when time passed and it looked as if he wasn't going to get tagged for it, she decided it was her duty or mission, or whatever word she uses for it, to step in. Having the two hundred grand, she could afford a hobby for a while. That was when she started to put the eyes on Rackham. I expect she thought she could get him into a state where he would dump it all out for her, and then she would not only know she was right but would also be able to complete her mission. But the months went by and he never dumped, and it probably got a little embarrassing, and she got fanatic about it, and she must even have got desperate, judging by the performance she finally ended up with. She decided Rackham was guilty, that part was all right, and the only thing lacking was evidence, so it was up to her to furnish it.

I leaned forward at her. “It's not enough to want to do a good deed, you damn' fool. Wanting is fine, but you also need some slight idea of how to go about it.

It didn't bother you that one by-product was making me out a cheap crook, did it? Many thanks sincerely yours.

She dropped her head into her hands to cover her face, and convulsions began.

They sat and looked at her. I looked at them. Archer was pulling jerkily at his lower lip. Dykes was shaking his head, his lips compressed.

“I suggest, I said modestly, raising my voice to carry over the noise Lina

Darrow was making, “that when she quiets down it might pay to find out if

Rackham has told her anything that might help. That item about his getting dough from gambling or rackets could be true, if they actually got intimate enough for him to tell her the story of his life.

They kept their eyes on her. She was crying away what had looked like a swell chance to wrap up a tough one, and I wouldn't have been surprised if they had burst into tears too. I pushed back my chair and stood up.

“If you get anything that I can be of any help on, give me a ring. I'll have a crowded afternoon, but word will reach me.

I walked out.

Chapter Nineteen

As I hit the sidewalk in front of the courthouse my watch said 11.17. It was sunny and warm, and people looked as if they felt pleased with the way things were going. I did not. In another few minutes they would have Lina Darrow talking again, and whether she gave it to them straight this time or tried her hand on a revised version, they might decide any minute that they wanted to talk with Barry Rackham, and that could lead to anything. The least it could lead to was delay, and my nerves were in no condition for it.

I dived across the street to a drug store, found a booth, and dialled Roeder's number. No answer. I went to where my car was parked, got in, and headed for the parkway.

On my way back to Manhattan I stopped four times to find a phone and dial

Roeder's number, and the fourth try, at a Hundred and Sixteenth Street, I got him. I told him where I was. He asked what they had wanted at White Plains.

“Nothing much, just to ask some questions about a lead they had got. I'm going to the Churchill to fix it to go ahead with that date to-day.

“You can't. It has been postponed until to-morrow at the other end. Arrange it for to-morrow.

“Can't you switch it back to to-day at your end?

“It would be difficult and therefore inadvisable.

I considered how to put it, in view of the fact that there was no telling who or how many might hear me. “There is a possibility, I said, “that the Churchill will have a vacant suite to-morrow. So my opinion is that it would be even more inadvisable to postpone it. I don't know, but I have an idea that it may be to-day or never.

A silence. Then, “How long will it take you to get to your office?

“Fifteen minutes, maybe twenty.

“Go there and wait.

I returned to the car, drove to a parking lot on Third Avenue in the upper

Forties, left the car there, and made steps to Madison Avenue and up to 1019.1 sat down, stood at the window, sat down, and stood at the window. I wouldn't ring the phone-answering service because I wanted my line free, but after a few minutes I began thinking I better had, in case Roeder had tried for me before I arrived. The debate on that was getting hot when the ring came and I jumped for it.

It was Roeder. He asked me through his nose, “Have you phoned the Churchill?

“No, I was waiting to hear from you.

“I hope you will have no trouble. It has been arranged for to-day at four o'clock.

I felt a tingle in my spine. My throat wanted to tighten, but I wouldn't let it.